The FiveYear Plan
by Snowballjane
Summary: Travis looks back on five years on Enterprise, reflecting on whether he has done all he set out to do.


Beta: Big thanks to Taryn and Mara (and cheers to Ozchickjo and KayJay for liking this story) for the group beta at EWB.  
  
Email me at: snowballjane@yahoo.co.uk with feedback etc.  
  
Disclaimer: Enterprise is quite definitely the property of Paramount, not me. It's a big ship and I only have a small garage.  
  
The Five-Year Plan By Jane  
  
Holding a piece of sticky tape between his teeth, Travis wrapped a sheet of soft foam around the delicate pinkish-purple crystal that was a little smaller than the size of his hand.  
  
Where had it come from, that pretty crystal? He mentally rummaged through the names of more than 200 planets Enterprise had visited in the past five years, before recalling the planet Davish. The Minshara-class planet had no humanoid life but the crew had visited a spectacular volcanic archipelago inhabited by turtle-like creatures, ten times the size of the largest known on Earth. The stunning crystals sent the geologists into raptures.  
  
After two days of scientific research there, Captain Archer suggested shore leave for the ship-bound personnel. "I think we need to stretch our legs, get some fresh air," he said. The bridge crew had nodded vigorously. Nevertheless, it was another six hours before T'Pol completed her meticulous preparations.  
  
"The third largest island in this group would appear to offer a reasonable location for a beach party, with minimal impact on indigenous wildlife," she announced, then raised a quizzical eyebrow at the cheers and laughter erupting around her.  
  
The party was a huge success and the samples the geologists had collected (having been duly studied and recorded) were given away as prizes for a variety of silly contests. Travis won his by standing on his head the longest. He felt sick afterwards, but holding the rock in his hand now, he was glad he had earned the precious memento of the discovery of a planet so peaceful, beautiful and delicate.  
  
With the foam taped firmly in place, Travis tucked the souvenir into one of the four open packing crates that filled the floor of his cabin.  
  
Travis Mayweather was leaving Enterprise. Promotion had arrived - long hoped for but nevertheless surprising him - engulfing him in excitement and pride. Yet it was a joy tinged with regret. He was to be posted to another ship: the Lisbon. New vessels were being lined up for deep space exploration and they wanted lieutenants with experience. A new job, a new home, a new adventure - and Enterprise and her crew would fly on without him.  
  
He peered into the locker. It gaped back at him emptily. Even so, he stretched his hand to the very back, just in case. He felt the unfamiliar dry texture of old-fashioned paper. His fingers closed around a thin single sheet, crumpling it a little as he dragged it from the back of the cupboard. And there it lay in his hand, a long-forgotten talisman of hopes and dreams.  
  
It was a list he had made five years ago. The paper was shiny silver and blue on one side, wrapping paper from a last minute farewell gift from his parents. He couldn't remember where he had found the pencil, but he remembered making the list on the blank white side. He'd been waiting in space dock for hours thinking about the extraordinary future that awaited him and had decided to write down some of the things he wanted to achieve in the next five years.  
  
It was a short list. Not because there weren't a million and one things he wanted to do, but because these were the really important ones.  
  
1. Meet beautiful alien women.  
  
He grinned and under his breath he muttered, "Check." Ok, he supposed when he wrote it he'd probably had more in mind than just meeting them - and to be fair, the five years on Enterprise hadn't perhaps been the lurve-fest he'd imagined in his more optimistic moments. Still, there had been plenty to look at on some of the planets they'd visited. And there were beautiful human women on Enterprise, for that matter.  
  
He sighed. He wouldn't be leaving any broken hearts behind. He'd miss flirting with Tina in engineering, but he didn't think she'd pine for him.  
  
2. Fly something really fast.  
  
Easy. Enterprise had made some pretty nifty speeds. With Trip's tweaks she'd already surpassed her warp 5 limits. But the speed he'd really remember was the race shuttles at Ratria 9. They weren't even warp speed, but they were small and dangerous and felt astonishingly fast through the obstacle-strewn racecourse.  
  
He'd been flying for the honour of Enterprise and Starfleet, but rather more importantly for the lives of several hostages whose lives rested on his ability to win the race.  
  
The obstacle course was in orbit around the planet and eight ships took part in the race. Immense metal satellites shot plat at giddying speeds, some rotating great arms to knock the unwary racer off his course. Others blipped out ionic pulses to interfere with shuttle controls.  
  
It was a flight of pure adrenaline. If he was honest, he enjoyed it so much, he wanted to go straight back out there and do it again. He was so exhilarated by victory he barely gave a thought to the people he'd just saved. At least, not straight away. Hours later, as the chemicals of excitement seeped away, Trip found him curled up in an Enterprise shuttlepod shaking.  
  
3. Make good friends.  
  
Yes. Malcolm, Trip, Hoshi - people who would never, ever not be part of his life. They'd probably attend each other's children's weddings, meet up in the old spacefarers home and reminisce about creatures made of slime and aliens with strange table-manners.  
  
They'd lost count of how many times they'd saved each other's lives. During their travels, they had met cultures that considered a life-debt to be more binding than a blood-tie. He wondered what those people would make of the junior officers of the Enterprise.  
  
They weren't alike as a group. Almost certainly they wouldn't have chosen each other for friends if given a larger pool than the bridge crew. It didn't matter. They were bound now by ties closer than family.  
  
The captain, Phlox and T'Pol were slightly aloof from the group - the captain as a result of his position, Phlox because sickbay was a different world to the bridge and T'Pol by virtue of her Vulcan personality. But their friendship was valuable too, and he knew he was going to miss them all.  
  
4. Become a lieutenant.  
  
He laughed. Mission accomplished.  
  
He tucked the list inside the packing crate and one by one pushed down the four lids, which sealed shut with a series of satisfying clunks. The door to his quarters swished shut behind him one final time as he strode out to make his goodbyes. As he walked along the curving corridors of Enterprise he wondered where he could get hold of a piece of paper to help pass the time as he waited for his transfer in space dock.  
  
The end. 


End file.
